Red Bull Fly-in Austria 2014

Harald Reiter, General Manager of The Flying Bulls (the aircraft wing of Red Bull), organised a fly-in for the radio control pilots and their team, that they sponsor throughout the year. These pilots come from across Europe, including myself from the UK with my Red Bull BO 105.

The aim was to get all the pilots and their models in one place so that they could get to know one another (they are all part of the Red Bull family according to Harald), and that the Red Bull country managers could appreciate the models and flying skills, as most have not seen them before.

The fly-in was held at the Salzburg Model flying club that has fantastic facilities including a clubhouse and Tarmac runway, with the most beautiful mountain background that is the envy of any club, anywhere in the world. The day started cloudy and cold but turned sunny and warm by early afternoon. Each sponsored pilot gave a flying demonstration that was captured by Red Bull's film unit, which hopefully will be released as a DVD.

The range of models could not have been more different, or larger. Each one is an accurate scale model of a Red Bull full size airplane. Among those flying included:

Josef Schmirl who claims to have the worlds largest Cobra. Josef put on a great display that included firing chaff as the model climbed up into a stall turn. It looked very impressive - which is should do as each time the chaff is fired costs over 120 Euros. You can see this model in the following video.

They fly 6m wingspan gliders that are both towed by the same tug plane to a height of around 700 metres, after which they are released. There then follows around 3 minutes of beautiful, synchronised aerobatics, enhanced by coloured smoke coming from the wing tips of each glider. The effect and skill on show is amazing. You can see some of their display in the following 2 videos from YouTube.

There were too many models to give each one a mention, however the team flying large scale MB-339 jets deserves a special mention. Right from the start the two pilots performed synchronised aerobatics with their turbine powered aircraft. As well as flying in close formation, they also flew some of the lowest passes seen at any airshow. You can see some of their display in this YouTube video:

All of the above videos were not taken at the fly-in, but as they become available they will replace those shown above. All in all it was a great day and well worth the 1,600 mile round trip. The pilots who flew are some of the best in the world as well as being some of the friendliest people you could ever wish to meet. We really hope this becomes an annual event.